Monthly Archives: April 2014

I think I can safely say that depression is one of the most common maladies that impact our society today. The number of medications that are used in an attempt to treat the symptoms is vast. The variety of therapeutic interventions that are used to treat depression is voluminous. It is a real problem in our world and I would like to see a more integrated approach to treatment that focuses on the problem with a holistic perspective versus treating symptoms alone.

There is nothing wrong with symptom relief, and using medication to provide relief is one way to approach treatment for depression. Unfortunately, many health care delivery systems stop with medication for depression patients and do not provide the other needed interventions. Psychotherapy is a useful tool for treating depression, and when someone with severe depression can find the right medication and a good therapist, the prognosis can be promising. This combination is the most available, yet it is not available to all. Some insurance plans will cover both medication and therapy. Not all. And without insurance, treatment cost is prohibitive to most.read more

This week I want to look at the mental aspect of wellness. We understand that there is a mind/body/spirit connection that produces our overall holistic wellness. There are specific mental qualities and functions that are very important to this flow. I want to focus on the power of our attitude in promoting self-healing.

We have all experienced a negative attitude, whether in our own self, or in others. Ponder this experience for a moment. We often associate negative attitude with negative mood. We call this grumpy, crabby, or various other terms. If you recall this experience clearly enough, you will see that there was also a physical or body aspect of this state. A toddler who needs a nap is the perfect example of this. Keep this image in mind as we go forward.read more

I have spent some time this week contemplating the ways that spirituality can influence wellness as we age. I focused on this topic for my Ph.D. dissertation, and I continue to explore the idea as I go forward with wellness promotion as a practical matter.

My study showed me that older adults who have a spiritual orientation were able to understand wellness from a holistic perspective. This makes sense, since in my definition of holistic wellness, spirituality is a primary component. This definition has been supported by theorists, researchers and practitioners of the healing arts across multiple genres and fields of study.read more

This week I was reading in the current Journal of Transpersonal Psychology and found articles on paradigms of consciousness and building bridges between spirituality and psychology. These readings made me think about how important consciousness is to wellness. Most of us might think that consciousness is a topic for psychology, or maybe philosophy, yet it is a universal topic that can be found in all areas of discourse including physics. Please bear with me as I set the stage. I will discuss the connection between physics and consciousness. Then I will describe how our ego function influences our flow of consciousness. I will then show how this influence impacts our wellness experience.read more